Ramona Ortiz, wife of Cleofes Ortiz, the fine New Mexico fiddler from Bernal, used to say to us, “I never think I come to such a Bewilderness.’ Ken and Jeanie are happy to be in such a place.The Bayou Seco band is lead by Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie. Twenty-five members of the family play on this disc along with Ken and Jeanie, who have kept the band going for 20 years, and who now live in Silver City, NM.

“OLD MUSIC IN THE NEW WEST” DESERT STOMPS, CAJUN ROMPS AND SONGS FOR MODERN COWGIRLS AND VAQUEROS.Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie are joined by special guests Antonia Apodaca, the Frannie Leopold, and Paul Rangell and the Bayou Seco Band.Price: $17.50 Post Paid

This recording of the Eclectico Wing of Bayou Seco, i.e. Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie, with long time musical friends and partners, Scott Mathis and Linda Askew, represents a tune patchwork of heirloom melodies. This music has been an important thread in our lives, intertwined with our other work of making violins (Ken), teaching fiddle(Jeanie), and building our house in Silver City (K&J), bidding jobs for construction companies and studying Italian mandolin music (Scott), working in Early Childhood Special Education (Linda), and playing music in the USA, England and France (all).

Cleofes Ortiz with Augustine Chavez and Jeanie McLerie on guitar.The dance music of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado dates back to Spanish Colonial times of the 17th century. The music and dances have survived in the isolated mountain towns of northern New Mexico.

On this CD, Cleofes Ortiz is joined my Ken and Jeanie and several other friends. The tunes are longer so that they are more useful for dances and instructions are included for some of the New Mexican Spanish Colonial dances.

Jeanie McLerie, Alice Gerard and Irene Herrmann are the Harmony Sisters. They have all spent much of their lives playing traditional American styles of music. They have also devoted themselves to learning the music directly from traditional musicians. This is a truely fine collection of American music, from people who personally know the roots of it.

Jeanie McLerie and Frannie Leopold are the Delta Sisters. Beautiful but cutting harmonies of traditional and country tunes and a couple of originals, they are joined by some of the best folk musicians in California.